Buckle assembly machine and method

ABSTRACT

A buckle assembly machine and method wherein buckles are fabricated by assembling the component parts thereof on individual tongues connected together in a driven endless belt. The tongues are similar to those with which the buckles are ultimately used.

United States Patent [191 Fisher [451 Jan. 1,1974

[ BUCKLE ASSEMBLY MACHINE AND METHOD [76] Inventor: Robert C. Fisher, 580 E. Long Lake Rd., Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

[22] Filed: Sept. 25, 1972 [2l] App]. No.: 291,678

[52] US. Cl 29/430, 29/200 A, 29/3 [51] Int. Cl B23p 21/00 [58] Field of Search ..29/428430,

200 R, 200 A, 208 F, 3, 434; 223/49 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,686,619 8/1954 Broadwell 29/3 654,6]6 7/l900 Marggraff et al. 29/3 Primary Examiner-Charles W. Lanham Assistant ExaminerD. C. Crane Attorney-J. King Harness et al.

[57] ABSTRACT A buckle assembly machine and method wherein buckles are fabricated by assembling the component parts thereof on individual tongues connected together in a driven endless belt. The tongues are similar to those with which the buckles are ultimately used.

29 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures PAIENTED 3.781.967

, sum 1 Hi4 PATENTEDJAN H 14 3.781.967.

BUCKLE ASSEMBLY MACHINE AND METHOD BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a buckle assembly machine and method for assembling buckles such as seat belt and shoulder belt buckles. ,7

Among the objects of the present invention are: to greatly improve the efficiency with which buckles can be assembled; to provide apparatus for reliably and rapidly assembling buckles; to provide an automatic check on assembled buckles to insure proper assembly thereof and compliance with specifications; to substantially reduce costs associated with assembly of buckles; and to substantially preclude the possibility that improperly assembled buckles will reach the customer.

The foregoing objects as well as additional objects and advantages of the invention will be seen in the ensuing description and claims which are to be taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The drawings illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention in accordance with the best mode presently contemplated for carrying out the invention.

FIGS. 1 through 4 are perspective views illustrating the assembly sequence of a buckle according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a plan view having portions broken away of a buckle assembly machine according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken along line 6-6 in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken along line 7-7 in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken along line 8-8 in FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken along line 9-9 in FIG. 5;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged vertical sectional view similar to FIG. 9 showing the relative position of the machine and buckle elements at a later time; and

FIG. 11 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken along line l1-ll in FIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The operation of the buckle assembly machine illustrated herein can best be understood by first explaining the method of assembling the buckles with reference to FIGS. 1 through 4. While the drawings and description are for one specific buckle, it will be appreciated that the invention can be practiced with other buckle dcsigns.

The first step of the sequence, shown in FIG. 1, involves the insertion of a buckle base 10 onto a tongue 12. Base 10 comprises a bottom wall 14 and a pair of side walls 16 and 18 which extend upwardly from the side edges of bottom wall 14. A pair of flanges 20 and 22 extend inwardly from the upper edges of side walls 16 and 18, respectively, but stop noticeably short of each other leaving a relatively wide gap 23 between their inner edges. A pair of rearwardly projecting fingers 24 and 26 are struck upwardly out of the rear ends of flanges 20 and 22, respectively. A slotted arcuate tab 28 on the forward end of base 10 extends away from bottom wall 14 and serves to attach a belt (not shown).

An upwardly curled lip 30 having a shallow central recess 31 at its free edge extends along the rear transverse edge of bottom wall 14 and is open toward the front of base 10.

Tongue 12 is flat and has a transversely centered rectangular slot 32 toward its forward end with which the assembled buckle is interlocked. An oval slot 34, rearwardly of slot 32, serves to mount a curved spring 36 which curves upwardly toward the forward end of tongue 12. The sides of tongue 12 have forwardly facing shoulders 38 and 40 between slots 32 and 34.

Base 10 is inserted onto tongue 12 by orienting base 10 as illustrated relative to tongue 12 and then advancing base 10 in the direction of the arrow until the rear edges of side walls 16 and 18 abut shoulders 38 and 40, respectively. The distance between side walls 14 and 16 is just slightly greater than the width of the portion of tongue 12 onto which base 20 is inserted so that base 10 is thereby centered on tongue 12. The center of gravity of base 10 is such that with base 10 fully inserted onto tongue 12, flanges 20 and 22 rest on the side margins of the portion of tongue 12 forwardly of shoulders 38 and 40. The height of side walls 16 and 18 exceeds the thickness of tongue 12 to provide a space 41 (FIG. 2) between bottom wall 14 and tongue 12 within base 10. g

FIG. 2 illustrates the second step of the assembly sequence. A latch assembly 42 consisting ofa latch plate 44 and a spring 46 is inserted into space 41. Latch plate 44 is substantially flat, having a rear transverse edge 48 adapted to lodge within lip 30. Rear edge 48 has a shallow central recess 50 locating spring 46 centrally of latch plate 44 and cooperating with recess 31 to prevent the end of spring 46 on latch plate 44 from interfering with full insertion of the latch plate into lip 30. Latch plate 44 is formed with a transversely centered catch 52 which is struck upwardly in the forward direction at an angle out of the plane of the plate and whose forward edge terminates at the rear edge of a slot 54. A pair of tabs 55 and 57 project forwardly of slot 54. The forward end of catch 52 is adapted to lodge within slot of tongue 12 to interlock the buckle with the tongue. Spring 46 curves downwardly toward the forward edge of plate 44 and serves to bias plate 44 into locking engagement with tongue 12.

Latch assembly 42 is assembled into base 10 by orienting latch plate assembly 42 as illustrated relative to base 10 and then advancing latch plate assembly 42 in the direction of the arrow into space 41. Latch plate 44 is maintained in a generally horizontal orientation as edge 48 is inserted into space 41. The width of latch plate 44 is only slightly less than the distance between side walls 16 and 18 so that latch assembly 42 is accurately guided into base 10. Spring 46 is deflected as its free end rides over tab 28 and onto bottom wall 14; but after spring 46 clears tab 28, catch 52 rides along the forward edge of tongue 12 and the camming action of catch 52 with tongue 12 causes spring 46 to be increasingly deflected and edge 48 to be thereby directed toward lip 30. As a result, edge'48 is accurately guided into lip 30, and when the forward edge of catch 52 clears the forward edge of slot 32, spring 46 pivotally urges latch plate 44 about rear edge 48 to move the forward end ofcatch 52 into slot 32. Tongue 12 is thereby locked to base 10.

FIG. 3 approximately illustrates the third step of the assembly sequence wherein an actuating button 58 for releasing latch plate 44 from locking engagement with tongue 12 is positioned on the incomplete buckle. The specific details involved in positioning button 58 will be described later in the machine description. Actuating button 58 comprises a generally flat, rectangular body 60 adapted to be pressed to unlatch the buckle and may include a medallion 61. A finger 62 projects downwardly and forwardly of the forward transverse edge of body 60. A pair of side tabs 64 and 66 project downwardly of body 60 from the forward portions of the side edges thereof and rest on portions 68 and 70 of latch plate 44. Three fingers 72, 74, and 76 project generally rearwardly of body 60 from the rear transverse edge thereof. As will be seen later, fingers 62 and 74 prevent rattle of button 58.

As indicated by the arrows, button 58 is initially placed on the rear portion of tongue 12 and is then slid forwardly into gap 23 to place tabs 64 and 66 on portions 68 and 70 oflatch plate 44. With button 58 so positioned, fingers 72 and 74 are supported on the free end of spring 36 in upwardly spaced relation from tongue 12 at approximately the same level as the free ends of fingers 24 and 26. A tip 36a on the free end of spring 36 assists in centering button 59 by lodging between fingers 72 and 76.

The fourth step of the assembly sequence is shown in FIG. 4 wherein a cover 78 is attached to base 10 to cover the top thereof. Cover 78, however, includes a rectangular opening 80 which provides access to actuating button 58. Cover 78 includes a downwardly curled lip 82 extending across the rear transverse edge thereof and open toward the forward direction. A pair of projecting tabs 84, only one of which is shown, project forwardly from the free edge of lip 82. A rectangular tab 86 connected to the forward transverse edge of cover 78 interlocks cover 78 to base 10.

Cover 78 is assembled to base 10 by orienting the cover at an acute angle relative to the plane of the base as illustrated andmoving the cover forwardly so that the portions of lip 82 outboard of tabs 84 catch fingers 24 and 26. Tabs 84 catch the elevated free ends of fingers 72 and 76, spring 36 having a width less than the spacing between tabs 84. The forward end of cover 78 is then pressed downwardly so that tab 86 rides over the forward edges of flanges 20 and 22 to lodge in the open forward end of base 10 and interlock therewith. Fingers 62 and 74 bear against cover 78 to prevent rattle of button 58. The fully assembled buckle is removed from tongue 12 by depressing button 58. Depression of button 58 rotates latch plate 44 via tabs 64 and 66 so that catch 52 dislodges from slot 32. The buckle is now slid off tongue 12. During removal of the buckle, spring 36 flexes downwardly out of the way oflip 82 and does not interfere with removal of the buckle.

The buckle assembly machine for assembling buckles in accordance with the sequence just described is shown in FIGS. 5 through 11. Te machine comprises a base 100 on which an endless belt 102 of individual tongues 12 travels in a loop. No complete or partially assembled buckles are shown on the machine in FIG. for sake of clarity. Tongues 12 are equally spaced along the length of belt 102 and are connected together by a chain (not shown). The chain engages a driving sprocket 105 and a driven sprocket 107 at opposite ends of belt 102. Sprocket 105 is driven by suitable drive means connected to sprocket shaft 104 to advance belt 102 in equal indexing increments from left to right in FIG. 5 (as indicated by arrow 101), each increment being equal to the distance between centers of adjacent tongues 12. The upper portion of belt 102 is suitably supported in a horizontal plane and passes through a plurality of different stations. These stations taken in downstream order are as follows: a base loading station 106; a latch loading station 108, three indexing increments downstream of station 106; a button loading station 110, four indexing increments downstream of station 108; a cover loading station 112, one indexing increment downstream of station 110; a test station 114, seven indexing increments downstream of station 112 and a removal station 116, three indexing increments downstream of station 114.

The details of station 106 are shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Bases 10 enter station 106 via an inclined chute which deposits bases 10 one at a time on a support 122. Support 122 has a horizontal surface 122a on the rear portion of which the bottom wall 14 of each base comes to rest, upon leaving chute 120. A stop 122b on the right side of surface 122a opposite chute 120 (as viewed in FIG. 5) locates base 10 on support 122. Suitable apparatus for controlling the entry of bases onto support 122 could be a sensing arm positioned over surface 122a and biased slightly away from stop 12212. When a base 10 is discharged from chute 120, the base deflects the arm against stop 12211 with the arm being maintained in deflected position between side wall 18 of the base and stop 122b when the base comes to rest on support 122. The sensing arm could control a gate in chute 120 such that another base cannot enter the station so long as the arm is in deflected position. Support 122 is positioned directly in front of belt 102 and is positioned relative to the tongue 12 at the station such that when a base 10 is on support 122, as indicated in broken lines in FIG. 6, the open rear end of the base is aligned for insertion onto the free end of the tongue in accordance with the description of FIG. 1 above.

A pusher 124 is situated directly in front of support 122. Pusher 124 is guided on a rod 126 for movement toward and away from belt 102. Pusher 124 is operatively connected to a power cylinder 128 which is controllably actuated to produce the desired motion of pusher 124 in suitably timed relation with the operation of the machine. FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate pusher 124 in the retracted position. In this position, an extension 124a on pusher 124 overlies a portion of surface 122a. Extension 124a serves to maintain the aforementioned sensing arm in the deflected position until pusher 124 is fully retracted. Upon actuation of cylinder 128, pusher 124 advances so that the edge 130 thereof abuts the forward ends of side walls 16 and 18 of base 10. Continued advancement of pusher 124 moves base 10 rearwardly on support 122 from the broken line position of FIG. 6. Stop 122b helps guide base 10 during its travel so that the open rear end of the base freely slides onto tongue 12. Advancement of pusher 124 is discontinued when sides 16 and 18 abut shoulders 38 and 40. Pusher 124 is then retracted to its original position leaving base 10 supported via flanges 20 and 22 on tongue 12. During advancement and retraction of pusher 124, extension 124a maintains the aforementioned sensing arm in the deflected position until pusher 124 is fully retracted. Upon release of the sensing arm, edge 130 of pusher 124 has cleared support 122 so that it is permissible for a subsequent base to be loaded onto support 122 via chute 120.

The details of station 108 are shown in FIGS. 5 and 7. Latch plate assemblies 42 are inserted into bases 10 in accordance with the above description of FIG. 2. Latch plate assemblies 42 are received at station 108 via an inclined chute 140 which deposits latch plate assemblies one at a time onto a support 142. Support 142 comprises a pair of horizontal side guides 142a, l42b which are separated by a channel 1420. As shown in broken-lines in FIG. 7, the sides of latch plate 42 rest on guides 142a, l42b and spring 46 fits within channel 1420 to transversely locate latch assembly 42 in proper relation to the base 10 into which it is to be inserted. Station 108 includes a pusher 144 guided on a rod 146 for movement toward and away from belt 102. Pusher 144 is operatively connected with cylinder 128 so that both pushers 124 and 144 operatein unison upon actuation of cylinder 128. A slot 148 runs across the lower rear portion of pusher 144. The forward projections 55 and 57 of latch plate 44 are confined by slot 148 when pusher 144 is advanced, vertical surface 148a of slot 148 abutting the forward edge of tabs 55 and 57 and horizontal surface l48b of slot 148 closely overlying tabs 55 and 57. As latch assembly 42 is advanced by pusher 144 from its broken line position of FIG. 7, spring 46 rides over tab 28, and this has a tendency to elevate the forward end of latch plate 44. However, slot 148 confines plate 44 so that the plate is maintained in a generally horizontal orientation during insertion thereof into base 10. Accordingly, catch 52 is cammed against the forward end of tongue 12 so that edge 48 is directed into lip 30 and catch 52 lodges in slot 32 in accordance with the preceding description of FIG. 2. Thus, when latch assembly 42 is fully inserted into base 10 it assumes the position illustrated in solid lines in FIG. 7, pusher 144 being narrower than gap 23 to permit full insertion of assembly 42 into base 10. When pusher 144 is fully retracted the next latch assembly 42 is deposited on support 142. Suitable control apparatus (not shown) is associated with the operation of pusher 144 so that latch assemblies are deposited one at a time onto support 142 in suitably timed relation with the operation of the machine. For example, such apparatus could sense retraction of pusher 144 to its initial position and at this time cause another latch assembly to be deposited on support 142.

The details of station 110 are shown in FIGS. 5 and 8. Station 110 operates to position actuating buttons 58 on the incomplete buckle assemblies generally in accordance with the above description of FIG. 3. Buttons 58 are received at station 110 one at a time via an inclined chute 160. A pusher 162, closely overlies the rear portion of tongue 12 and is operable to position button 58 on the incomplete buckle. In its retracted position, which is illustrated in FIG. 8, pusher 162 is poised at the discharge of chute 160 such that when a button 58 is discharged from chute 160, tabs 64 and 66 come to rest on tongue 12 while fingers 72 and 76 come to rest on the forward portion of pusher 162. Accordingly, button 58 assumes the generally horizontal position illustrated. A stop 163 (shown only in FIG. 5) is fixedly positioned opposite the discharge of chute 160. Stop 163 locates button 58 transversely of tongue 12, and assists in guiding button 58 during its initial increment of travel toward base 10. Pusher 162 is operatively connected with the rod ofa power cylinder 165 and is movable from its retracted position toward and away from base 10 upon actuation of the cylinder. When pusher 162 advances, the forward edge 164 thereof engages tabs 64 and 66 to move button 58 forwardly on tongue 12 and into gap 23-01 base 10. The width of button 58 across tabs 64 and 66 is just slightly less than the width of gap 23 so that button 58 is accurately guided during its final increment of travel. Pusher 162 is advanced to place tabs 64 and 66 on portions 68 and 70 of latch plate 44 as shown in solid lines in FIG. 8. Pusher 162 is then retracted and freely slides beneath body 60 because tabs 64 and 66 are prevented from moving rearwardly by the forward edge of tongue 12. As pusher 162 leaves fingers 72 and 76, spring 36 maintains fingers 72 and 76 in elevated position above the surface of tongue 12. Suitable control apparatus is operatively associated with station to discharge the next button 58 from chute when the next tongue comes to station 110.

Details of station 112 are shown in FIGS. 5, 9 and 10. Covers 78 are attached to bases 10 in accordance with the description of FIG. 4 above. Covers 78 are received one at a time at station 112 via an inclined chute (FIG. 5). A pusher 182 is poised to the right of chute 180, as viewed in FIG. 5, and is operatively connected to the rod ofa power cylinder 183. Pusher 182 is movable from right to left as viewed in FIG. 5 to push cover 78 at the end of chute 180 onto the underside of an inclined magnet 184 (FIG. 9). When a cover 78 comes to the end of chute 180, it is oriented in the inclined position, and the end of chute 180 is designed to guide cover 78 as it is pushed onto the underside of magnet 184. Magnet 184 is inclined upwardly and forwardly to receive cover 78 and is operatively connected to the rod ofa power cylinder 185 for movement toward and away from base 10. Cover 78 is positioned on magnet 184 such that lip 82 is positioned in horizontal alignment with the free ends of fingers 24, 26, 72 and 76. With cover 78 having been placed thereon, magnet 184 is advanced in the forward direction to catch fingers 24, 26, 72 and 76 with lip 82, (FIG. 10). Cover 78 is removed from magnet 184 by means of a vertical ram 186 which is poised above the forward end of cover 78. Ram 186 moves downwardly to engage cover 78 and remove it from magnet 184. The stroke of ram 186 is sufficient to interlock tongue 86 within the open forward end of base 10. Magnet 184 and ram 186 are then retracted. This completes the assembly sequence of the buckle.

Station 114 is a test station for determining if the minimum release force on a button 58 needed to unlatch an assembled buckle from a tongue 12 exceeds a specified value. Station 114 comprises a cylinder 190 having a rod 192 adapted to press against button 58 with this specified force. A second cylinder 194 having a rod 196 is positioned directly behind the buckle beneath the tongue. With rod 192 applying its force to button 58, rod 196 attempts to push the buckle off tongue 12. So long as the force required to unlatch the buckle from the tongue exceeds the force exerted by rod 192, rod 196 is unable to push the buckle off the tongue since latch 44 remains locked with tongue 12. However, if the buckle is unlatched from tongue 12 by rod 192, the buckle does not comply with the release force specification, and will be pushed off tongue 12 into a suitable receptacle for collecting non-complying buckles.

Station 116 is similar to station 114 and comprises cylinders 200 and 202 arranged in identical fashion to cylinders 190 and 194. Cylinder 200 applies via its rod a force on button 58 which represents a specified maximum force needed to unlatch the buckle from the tongue. Cylinder 202 applies via its rod a force for removing the buckle from tongue 12. Thus, so long as the buckle complies with this specification, cylinder 200 will unlatch the buckle, and cylinder 202 will push it off tongue 12 into a receptacle for collecting satisfactory buckles. Should the buckle fail to comply with this release force specification it will not be removed from the tongue but rather will continue to travel with belt 102. Therefore, a limit switch 210 (FIG. is positioned downstream of station 116 and senses whenever a buckle has not been removed at station 116. Switch 210 is interlocked with the machine to prevent further operation thereof and to give a warning alarm so that personnel can remove the non-complying buckle.

The overall operation of the machine can now be understood. One machine cycle consists of one cycle of each station 106 through 116 followed by one index of belt 102. The station cycles are concurrent. This machine cycle is continuously repeated as the machine operates. Suitable controls are provided so that belt 102 can index only when all stations have cycled and so that the stations cannot cycle again until after belt 102 has indexed. Thus, as a tongue I04 moves through stations 106, 108,110 and 112, a buckle is progressively assembled together thereon. Stations 114 and 166 assure that the buckle has been properly assembled and that it complies with release effort specifications.

From the foregoing description it can be seen that the invention provides expeditious and reliable assembly of buckles along with automatic checking of the buckles. The invention eliminates manual assembly of the buckles and correspondingly provides a substantial reduction in the manufacturing cost of the buckles. Specific circuit details of electrical and pneumatic controls for the machine have been omitted for the sake of clarity since the arrangement and construction thereof will be apparent to one skilled in the art in view of the foregoing detailed description of the operating sequence of the machine and its individual elements.

While it will be apparent that the invention herein disclosed is well calculated to achieve the benefits and advantages as hereinabove set forth, it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible to modification, variation and change without departing from the spirit thereof.

What is claimed is:

l. A buckle assembly machine for assembling buckles having a base, a latch, an actuating button and a cover comprising: an endless belt of tongues on which buckles are assembled, said belt being indexable along its path of travel to successively advance the tongues thereof in indexing increments and a plurality of stations at selected locations along the path of travel of said belt for assembling buckle components together on the tongues thereof comprising a base loading station for loading a base onto a tongue, a latch loading station downstream of said base loading station for loading a latch into a base, an actuating button loading station downstream of said latch loading station for placing an actuating button on a latch and a cover loading station downstream of said button loading station for attaching a cover to a base.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein the base comprises a bottom wall and side flanges spaced vertically above the bottom wall and said base loading station comprises means for pushing a base onto a tongue such that side flanges of the base support the base on the tongue.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said base loading station comprises a support in front of said belt for receiving bases one at a time and means for pushing a base from said support onto a tongue.

4. The combination of claim 3 including means on each of the tongues for limiting rearward movement of a base thereon to thereby accurately control insertion of a base onto a tongue.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said means for limiting the rearward movement of the bases comprises shoulders on the tongues adapted to abut the rear ends of the bases.

6. The combination of claim 4 wherein the width of the portion of each tongue onto which a base is inserted is slightly less than the width of the portion of the base which is inserted thereon so that the base is accurately centered on the tongue.

7. The combination of claim 2 wherein said latch loading station comprises means for inserting a latch into the space between a tongue and the bottom wall of a base thereon.

8. The combination of claim 7 wherein the base includes latch receiving means on the bottom wall thereof adapted to receive the rear edge of a latch and said latch loading station comprises means for directing the rear edge of a latch into the latch receiving means.

9. A combination of claim 8 wherein the latch receiving means comprises a curled lip on the rear edge of the bottom wall open toward the front thereof.

10. A combination of claim 9 wherein each of said tongues comprises a slot, the latch having a plate and a spring, the spring being attached to the rear edge of the plate and extending downwardly and forwardly thereof, the plate having a catch inclining upwardly and forwardly and adapted to lodge in the slot in the tongue, and wherein said latch loading station comprises means for loading a latch into a base such that the catch is cammed against the tongue to direct the rear edge of the plate into the lip.

11. The combination of claim 1 wherein said latch loading station comprises a support in front of said belt for receiving latches one at a time and means for pushing a latch from the support into a base.

12. The combination of claim 11 wherein the latch has a plate and a spring, the spring being attached to the rear edge of the plate and extending downwardly and forwardly thereof and wherein said means for pushing the latch comprises means engageable with the forward portion of the plate for causing the plate to be maintained in generally horizontal alignment as said spring is deflected during insertion of the latch into the base.

13. The combination of claim 12 wherein said means for pushing the latch comprises a slot having a vertical wall adapted to abut the forward edge of the latch plate and a horizontal wall extending rearwardly of the vertical wall and closely overlying the forward portion of the latch plate.

14. The combination of claim 13 wherein said support includes a slot located centrally thereof and aligned with the direction in which a latch is slid into a base, the spring being positioned within said slot for locating the latch on the support and for guiding the latch toward the base during an initial increment of movement thereof.

15. The combination of claim 1 wherein said actuating button loading station comprises means for placing an actuating button on a latch such that the forward portion of the button is engageable with the latch at a location spaced forwardly of the rear edge of the latch.

16. The combination of claim including support means for supporting the rear portion of the actuating button in spaced relation from the tongue.

17. The combination of claim 16 wherein said support means comprises a spring mounting on each tongue for supporting the rear portion of an actuating button above the upper surface of the tongue.

18. A combination of claim 17 wherein said spring extends upwardly in the forward direction.

19. The combination of claim 18 wherein the actuating button comprises a pair of transversely spaced rearwardly projecting fingers and said spring includes means for locating the spring approximately midway between the fingers to thereby center the actuating button.

20. The combination of claim 1 wherein said cover loading station comprises a magnet movable toward and away from the forward edge of the belt means for placing a cover on the magnet so that the magnet can carry the cover to a position over a base and means for removing the cover from the magnet and causing the cover to interlock with the base.

21. The combination of claim 20, wherein said magnet is inclined upwardly in the forward direction to support the cover such that the forward transverse edge of the cover is spaced upwardly of the rear transverse edge of the cover.

22. The combination of claim 21, wherein the base has transversely spaced flanges and the rear edge of the cover has a curled lip, said magnet supporting said cover such that the lip is aligned with the rear edges of the flanges, said magnet being movable to catch the rear edges of the flanges with the lip.

23. The combination of claim 20 wherein said means for removing the cover from said magnet comprises a ram movable to engage the forward portion of the cover after the cover has been advanced by the magnet and to separate the cover from the magnet and to lock the forward end of the cover with the forward end of the base.

24. The combination of claim 1 including a test station downstream of said cover loading station for applying a pre-determined force to the actuating button and means for applying a force tending to remove the buckle from the tongue when the first mentioned force is being applied to the button.

25. The combination of claim 24 wherein said means for applying predetermined force to the actuating button comprises a cylinder positioned vertically above the belt.

26. The combination of claim 1 including a removal station downstream of said cover loading station, said removal station comprising means for applying a predetermined force to the actuating button and means for applying a force to the buckle tending to remove the buckle from the tongue while the first mentioned force is being applied to the actuating button.

27. The combination of claim 26 including means downstream of said removal station for detecting the presence of a buckle on a tongue after the tongue has indexed from said removal station.

28. The method of assembling buckles having a base, a latch, an actuating button and a cover which comprises: providing an endless belt of tongues on which buckles are to be assembled, inserting a base onto one of the tongues at a base loading station, indexing the belt to advance the one tongue to a latch loading station downstream of the base loading station, inserting a latch into the base on the one tongue at the latch loading station, indexing the belt to move the one tongue downstream of the latch loading station to an actuating button loading station, placing an actuating button on the latch at the actuating button loading station, indexing the belt to move the one tongue downstream of the actuating button loading station to a cover loading station and loading a cover on the base at the cover loading station.

29. The method of claim 28 including indexing the one tongue downstream of the cover loading station to a test station and applying at the test station a predetermined force to the actuating button while simultaneously applying a force tending to remove the assembled buckle from the tongue.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent NO- Dated January 1,

Inventor(s) Robert C. Fisher It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 2, line 16, "14" should be -18; column 2, line 18, "20" should be --l0-; column 2, line 42, after "slot" insert -32--. Column 3, line 11, after "70" insert --(Fig. 2)--; column 3, line 24 "59" should be --58-; column 3, line 58, "IOe" should be -the--. Column 7, line 2, after "202" insert --(Fig. 5)----.

In the Claims: Column 9, line 27, after "belt" insert column 9, line 32, after "20" delete column 9, line 37, after "21" delete Column 10, line 10, after "applying" insert ---a--.

Signed and sealed this 17th day of June 1975.

(SEAL) Attest:

C. MARSHALL DANN RUTH C. MASON Commissioner of Patents Arresting Officer and Trademarks ORM PO-10 USCOMM-DC 60376-P69 9 U GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE "I! O-3-334 

1. A buckle assembly machine for assembling buckles having a base, a latch, an actuating button and a cover comprising: an endless belt of tongues on which buckles are assembled, said belt being indexable along its path of travel to successively advance the tongues thereof in indexing increments and a plurality of stations at selected locations along the path of travel of said belt for assembling buckle components together on the tongues thereof comprising a base loading station for loading a base onto a tongue, a latch loading station downstream of said base loading station for loading a latch into a base, an actuating button loading station downstream of said latch loading station for placing an actuating button on a latch and a cover loading station downstream of said button loading station for attaching a cover to a base.
 2. The combination of claim 1 wherein the base comprises a bottom wall and side flanges spaced vertically above the bottom wall and said base loading station comprises means for pushing a base onto a tongue such that side flanges of the base support the base on the tongue.
 3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said base loading station comprises a support in front of said belt for receiving bases one at a time and means for pushing a base from said support onto a tongue.
 4. The combination of claim 3 including means on each of the tongues for limiting rearward movement of a base thereon to thereby accurately control insertion of a base onto a tongue.
 5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said means for limiting the rearward movement of the bases comprises shoulders on the tongues adapted to abut the rear ends of the bases.
 6. The combination of claim 4 wherein the width of the portion of each tongue onto which a base is inserted is slightly less than the width of the portion of the base which is inserted thereon so that the base is accurately centered on the tongue.
 7. The combination of claim 2 wherein said latch loading station comprises means for inserting a latch into the space between a tongue and the bottom wall of a base thereon.
 8. The combination of claim 7 wherein the base includes latch receiving means on the bottom wall thereof adapted to receive the rear edge of a latch and said latch loading station comprises means for directing the rear edge of a latch into the latch receiving means.
 9. A combination of claim 8 wherein the latch receiving means comprises a curled lip on the rear edge of the bottom wall open toward the front thereof.
 10. A combination of claim 9 wherein each of said tongues comprises a slot, the latch having a plate and a spring, the spring being attached to the rear edge of the plate and extending downwardly and forwardly thereof, the plate having a catch inclining upwardly and forwardly and adapted to lodge in the slot in the tongue, and wherein said latch loading station comprises means for loading a latch into a base such that the catch is cammed against the tongue to direct the rear edge of the plate into the lip.
 11. The combination of claim 1 wherein said latch loading station comprises a support in front of said belt for receiving latches one at a time and means for pushing a latch from the support into a base.
 12. The combination of claim 11 wherein the latch has a plate and a spring, the spring being attached to the rear edge of the plate and extending downwardly and forwardly thereof and wherein said means for pushing the latch comprises means engageable with the forward portion of the plate for causing the plate to be maintained in generally horizontal alignment as said spring is deflected during insertion of the latch into the base.
 13. The combination of claim 12 wherein said means for pushing the latch comprises a slot having a vertical wall adapted to abut the forward edge of the latch plate and a horizontal wall extending rearwardly of the vertical wall and closely overlying the forward portion of the latch plate.
 14. The combination of claim 13 wherein said support includes a slot located centrally thereof and aligned with the direction in which a latch is slid into a base, the spring being positioned within said slot for locating the latch on the support and for guiding the latch toward the base during an initial increment of movement thereof.
 15. The combination of claim 1 wherein said actuating button loading station comprises means for placing an actuating button on a latch such that the forward portion of the button is engageable with the latch at a location spaced forwardly of the rear edge of the latch.
 16. The combination of claim 15 including support means for supporting the rear portion of the actuating button in spaced relation from the tongue.
 17. The combination of claim 16 wherein said support means comprises a spring mounting on each tongue for supporting the rear portion of an actuating button above the upper surface of the tongue.
 18. A combination of claim 17 wherein said spring extends upwardly in the forward direction.
 19. The combination of claim 18 wherein the actuating button comprises a pair of transversely spaced rearwardly projecting fingers and said spring includes means for locating the spring approximately midway between the fingers to thereby center the actuating button.
 20. The combination of claim 1 wherein said cover loading station comprises a magnet movable toward and away from the forward edge of the belt, means for placing a cover on the magnet so that the magnet can carry the cover to a position over a base and means for removing the cover from the magnet and causing the cover to interlock with the base.
 21. The combination of claim 20 wherein said magnet is inclined upwardly in the forward direction to support the cover such that the forward transverse edge of the cover is spaced upwardly of the rear transverse edge of the cover.
 22. The combination of claim 21 wherein the base has transversely spaced flanges and the rear edge of the cover has a curled lip, said magnet supporting said cover such that the lip is aligned with the rear edges of the flanges, said magnet being movable to catch the rear edges of the flanges with the lip.
 23. The combination of claim 20 wherein said means for removing the cover from said magnet comprises a ram movable to engage the forward portion of the cover after the cover has been advanced by the magnet and to separate the cover from the magnet and to lock the forward end of the cover with the forward end of the base.
 24. The combination of claim 1 including a test station downstream of said cover loading station for applying a pre-determined force to the actuating button and means for applying a force tending to remove the buckle from the tongue when the first mentioned force is being applied to the button.
 25. The combination of claim 24 wherein said means for applying a predetermined force to the actuating button comprises a cylinder positioned vertically above the belt.
 26. The combination of claim 1 including a removal station downstream of said cover loading station, said removal station comprising means for applying a predetermined force to the actuating button and means for applying a force to the buckle tending to remove the buckle from the tongue while the first mentioned force is being applied to the actuating button.
 27. The combination of claim 26 including means downstream of said removal station for detecting the presence of a buckle on a tongue after the tongue has indexed from said removal station.
 28. The method of assembling buckles having a base, a latch, an actuating button and a cover which comprises: providing an endless belt of tongues on which buckles are to be assembled, inserting a base onto one of the tongues at a base loading station, indexing the belt To advance the one tongue to a latch loading station downstream of the base loading station, inserting a latch into the base on the one tongue at the latch loading station, indexing the belt to move the one tongue downstream of the latch loading station to an actuating button loading station, placing an actuating button on the latch at the actuating button loading station, indexing the belt to move the one tongue downstream of the actuating button loading station to a cover loading station and loading a cover on the base at the cover loading station.
 29. The method of claim 28 including indexing the one tongue downstream of the cover loading station to a test station and applying at the test station a predetermined force to the actuating button while simultaneously applying a force tending to remove the assembled buckle from the tongue. 